Celebrating life at Barchester

The residents turned their hand to collaging to create an animal-inspired 100 in honour of Sir David Attenborough's milestone birthday last Friday. 

They thoroughly enjoyed looking at the various animal pictures & discussing Sir Attenborough whilst Blue Planet played in the background.     

This weekend our residents teamed up with the lovely ladies from the butterfly project, to create beautiful flower arrangements!

Everyone had a great time picking out their flowers, matching colours and going wild with their own unique styles.  

After the arrangements were done, we took part in a fun quiz about plants. We would like to thank Mandy & Shelby for joining us over the weekend and look forward to your next visit!

During May, our regular Boogier's attended the Boogie in the Bar monthly event at Peterhead Football Club. It is lovely that our residents are joined by their families at this event, and it has become a regular on their calendars. 

We had great fun dressing up with various props, and we definitely got into the spirit! We enjoyed a fair few dances and also a lovely fly cup with sandwiches and cakes. Claire was delighted to have Graeme on hand as our ever-trusty driver and this month they were joined by our lovely carer, Ethan. A great time was had by all.   

To coincide with this year's Grampian Wellbeing Festival, we have held our own wee Kirkburn Wellbeing Week during May. Our aim was to have something for the mind, body and soul, and we think we have not done too badly! We had animal visits, an exercise class, brain training quizzes, a music concert, a church service, spending time outdoors, bagpipe music and a visit from the Barchester cyclists. 

We also ran our own cycling challenge. We aimed to cycle the same distance as Peterhead to Aberdeen on our own pedal machine. Staff, residents and their families had great fun all pitching in to add to our total. We have also been looking after the wellbeing of our staff by handing out an array of pampering and relaxation products.   

A lovely week was had by all.

Today our residents and guests had the delightful pleasure of meeting Cara, an ear health specialist.
Cara showed us a presentation about the inner workings of the ear, and why you shouldn't use items like cotton bubs, to clean them.    

She then went around the room, answering questions and showing everyone the inside of their ears, using specialised equipment and giving advice when needed.  

During May, a team of staff from Barchester completed the Tour De Barchester cycling challenge around Scotland. They stopped in at all the Barchester Scottish homes en route, and they were raising money for the Barchester Charitable Foundation. We were delighted to host them on day 2 of their challenge. We prepared a healthy breakfast and goodie bags for them to start the day.   

We were delighted to have Sinclair on the bagpipes to give them a good Scottish send off. It was lovely to have the home decorated and residents and staff gathered outside to wave them off. We received some lovely feedback from the cycling team later on, thanking us for the warm and wonderful welcome and calling Kirkburn a truly special home. Of course, we agree! Well done to our team for putting together such a great event! There’s only one TEAM KIRKBURN! 

During May, we celebrated National Whisky Day! So what more was there to do than to enjoy a dram! We had a wee selection of some whiskies for our residents to sample. 

Some enjoyed having a drink, others enjoyed having a smell, others enjoyed looking through the bottles and reminiscing, and some simply enjoyed having a read through our whisky factsheets. Many of our whisky-loving staff who were on duty obviously could not have a drink – but they were able to share lots of useful knowledge and guide the residents on the best ones to sample. Bottoms up!    

National Walking Month is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the benefits of staying active and enjoying the outdoors. At South Grange Nursing Home, we encourage residents to take part in weekly walks whenever the weather permits. Residents enjoy gentle strolls around the local estate, taking in the beautiful gardens, colourful flowers and seasonal changes. These walks also provide a chance to stop and chat with passers-by, helping residents stay connected with the local community. 

These walks also spark up memories for the residents where they can reminisce and share stories about their younger days. Spending time outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine can boost your mood, encourage exercise and support overall wellbeing. Walks are always a popular activity, bringing happiness, conversation and enjoyment to everyone involved whilst promoting healthy and active lifestyles in a relaxed and social way.        

Recently the activities team have been focusing on summer time activities, This activity is an activity that Betty very much enjoys as the beach ball brings her fond memories of times at Aberdeen Beach with her family. It is a safe exercise; it is a gentle activity that improves several physical and reminiscing at the same time. 

Betty was able to focus on her hand and eye coordination, Betty was able to increase her gentle overhead movement by stretching her arms without any hard strain of risk leading to improving to the weights. This helped body control by supporting strengthening of muscles, even light movement for Betty like holding the beach ball and or throwing the beach ball helps with active shoulders, arms and upper body muscles and helps reduce weakness or stiffness. Most importantly this was a huge boost in mood and social interaction. Betty really enjoyed the Beach Ball games and this encouraged laughter and mental stimulation for her.  

We had a brilliant activity encouraging movement.